A good roast doesn't need to be mean. The rap battle roasts people actually remember are the ones built on a true, specific detail: the friend who is always "five minutes away", the brother who still has your hoodie, the coworker who hits reply-all.
Below are 30 original rap battle lyrics to roast someone, grouped by who you're roasting. Every bar is two lines, clean enough for a family group chat, and written to be rapped out loud. After that: how to write your own roast rap lyrics, and how to turn the battle into a video of the two of you.
The late friend
-
You text "on my way" while you're still in the shower,
your "five minutes" runs longer than a happy hour. -
You got here so late that the waiter retired,
the candles burned down and the coupons expired. -
If being late was a sport, you'd be champion by now,
but you'd miss the ceremony, so who takes the bow?
The bad cook
-
Your kitchen's got the fire truck on speed dial,
they know your address, they've been coming a while. -
You burned boiling water, that's a talent that's rare,
your guests say grace twice, and the second one's a prayer. -
You call it "well done", I call it a brick,
that steak hit the plate and it bounced right back quick.
The gym no-show
-
You pay for that gym like a monthly donation,
your only workout's walking to the snack station. -
Your sneakers are spotless, never seen a mile,
your leg day is lying on the couch in style. -
You post the gym selfie, you flex in the mirror,
then leave after one set, the story couldn't be clearer.
The gamer
-
You're level one hundred but you can't fold a shirt,
your stats look amazing, your laundry's all dirt. -
You say "one more game" like a promise you keep,
the sun's coming up and you still ain't asleep. -
You yell at the controller like it did you wrong,
but you've been offline in real life all along.
The sibling
-
You think you're Mom's favorite, but the photos don't lie,
the dog's on the fridge and you're nowhere nearby. -
You "borrowed" my hoodie and it never came back,
now it lives in your closet with my charger and my snacks. -
You still blame me for the vase, but we both know the truth,
you've been dodging that story since you lost your first tooth.
The coworker
-
You hit reply-all like it's a sport you play,
now four hundred people know you're out of office today. -
Your "quick sync" ran an hour, we watched the daylight fade,
that meeting was an email in a fancy parade. -
You microwave fish in the break room at noon,
now the whole floor smells like a sad lagoon.
The group-chat lurker
-
You read every message but you never say a word,
you're the ghost of the group chat, the quietest bird. -
Silent all week, not a single reply,
then somebody says "pizza", and you're suddenly "hi!" -
You left us on read like a library book,
two hundred notifications and you won't even look.
The bad driver
-
You parallel park like you're solving a riddle,
ten tries later, you're still stuck in the middle. -
Your GPS gave up and it's starting to pray,
"recalculating" your life since yesterday. -
You brake on the green and you speed up on red,
the instructor who passed you still shakes in his bed.
The cheapskate
-
You split the bill down to the very last cent,
then "forgot your wallet", so that's where it went. -
You still owe me twenty, man, that debt's getting old,
it's got a job and a mortgage now, if the truth be told. -
You bring one bag of chips to a party for ten,
eat half of the pizza, then ask "so, when's the next one, then?"
The phone-glued friend
-
You're glued to that phone like it pays you a wage,
we hung out three hours, you never looked up from the page. -
Your screen-time report came in like a warning,
nine hours scrolling, and that's just the morning. -
You took forty selfies just to post a single one,
by the time you picked it, the sunset was done.
How to write your own roast bars
The bars above are a starting point. The best roast rap lyrics are the ones only your friends would get, so here is how to write them.
1. Start with one true detail
Generic insults fall flat. "You're always late" is a shrug. "You said you were five minutes away and you hadn't left the house" gets a laugh, because everyone in the room remembers it happening. Write down three habits the person would admit to, and pick the funniest one.
2. Line one sets up, line two pays off
A two-line bar works like a joke. The first line states the situation in a normal way. The second line twists it, and the twist should land on the last word, which is also the rhyme. In bar 5, "You burned boiling water" is the setup; "the second one's a prayer" is the punchline, and "prayer" is where the rhyme hits.
3. Rhyme more than one syllable
Single rhymes (late / wait) work, but battle rap sounds sharper with multisyllabic rhymes, where two or three syllables in a row match: "speed dial / been a while", "donation / snack station". Say your line out loud, find the last two or three syllables, and look for a phrase that matches those sounds, not just the last letter.
4. Count the beats
Read both lines out loud and tap the table on the strong syllables. If one line has a lot more taps than the other, it will sound rushed. Cut filler words ("really", "just", "so") until the two lines feel about the same length.
5. Keep it friendly
A roast works when the person being roasted laughs hardest. Some simple rules:
- Roast habits and choices, not bodies, money, family, health, religion or anything they can't change.
- Skip anything they told you in private.
- If you wouldn't say it with their mom in the room, rewrite it.
- Let them roast you back. A battle is a two-way street.
Turn the battle into a video
Written bars are fun in a group chat. A rap battle video of the two of you performing it is better.
With RapVideo AI you upload two photos (one person in each, or one photo of both of you), pick a stage, Hotel Lobby (the orange booth), Luxury Lobby or Studio Booth, and write a topic. The topic can be up to 120 characters, and the AI writes original lyrics around it, so a battle setup works well:
- "Sam vs Alex: who's the worse driver"
- "Maya vs Jordan: who's always late, round one"
- "Big brother vs little sister: who really broke the vase"
- "Chris vs Dana: the office reply-all champion"
Two people trade lines on stage, with AI voices and a beat generated together. There is no voice cloning, so it won't sound like you or any real artist. The rap follows your topic's language: write the topic in Spanish and you get a Spanish battle. There are also quick tags under the topic box if you want a ready-made starting point.
Use the New song style for a battle. The Original remake style puts two faces into the original "Hotel Lobby" clip with the real song, so it ignores your topic and won't rap your roast.
A render takes about 2 to 3 minutes. A standard video (Standard, 720p, 12 seconds, 9:16) costs 10 credits. The single pack is $9.99 for 12 credits, and the Basic plan is $29.90 a month for 100 credits, about $2.99 per song. Failed renders are refunded automatically. See pricing for every option, or the step-by-step guide for photo tips.
FAQ
What are good rap battle lyrics to roast someone?
The best ones are built on a real, harmless habit: lateness, bad cooking, skipped gym days, endless gaming. Set the habit up in line one and land the joke on the rhyme in line two. The 30 bars above are sorted by target so you can pick one and swap in your friend's details.
How do I make roast rap lyrics clean?
Roast what people do, not who they are. Leave out bodies, money, family and private stories, and skip swearing. A clean roast is easier to share and usually funnier, because the joke has to be clever instead of shocking.
Can I use these bars in my own rap battle?
Yes. They're written for this page and you're free to use or remix them in your own battles, videos and group chats.
How long should a roast bar be?
Two lines is the sweet spot for a quick roast. For a full battle verse, chain four to eight bars about the same person and end on your strongest one.
Can I make a rap battle video with a friend?
Yes. Upload a photo of each of you, pick a stage and write a topic like "Sam vs Alex: who's the worse driver". You'll get a short video of the two of you rapping it. Get your friend's OK before you post it.
Can the battle be in another language?
Yes. The rap follows the language of your topic, so write the topic in the language you want to hear.
Is it free?
No. A standard video costs 10 credits, and failed renders are refunded automatically.
More ideas
Need a softer angle? See our funny rap lyrics for everyday jokes, or the Hotel Lobby trend ideas for 12 duos to put in the booth.